On the mats, the Harper College wrestlers use their strength to twist and turn their opponents to their advantage. But these powerful athletes also are capable of gentle acts of kindness, as they showed this fall by raking leaves and cleaning gutters for senior citizens in Palatine Township.
Fall cleaning for senior citizens is just one of the many outreach activities for Harper College students and staff as part of the Palatine school’s expanding volunteer program.
In all, students and staff participate in about 15 outreach projects annually, said Susan McGinty, student activities assistant.
“Community service is starting to spread throughout campus. Clubs are getting more involved, and the faculty is incorporating outreach into class assignments,” she said.
Volunteer efforts officially began on campus in 1992. This year, McGinty is focusing on bringing the outreach program into the classrooms and encouraging instructors to make volunteering more of an integral part of coursework.
In addition, Harper has instituted the GEN.I.E. (Generations Improving Education) program, which solicits members of the community to share their expertise with the students.
According to McGinty, campus volunteers have helped senior citizens winterize their homes, served meals to the homeless, tutored elementary school children and sponsored fundraisers for special causes.
Students and staff learn about program opportunities primarily through professors and coaches, but McGinty is also approached by students individually, she said.
McGinty estimated that more than 200 students and staff participate in volunteer programs during the school year; the school has 24,250 students and 1,100 employees.
Because of job and school commitments, many students have a limit to the number of hours they can volunteer. Yet a little effort goes a long way.
Take the efforts of Harper’s Ambassador Club. The club, which promotes the college to potential students, decided to sponsor a car wash to help the Willman family of Palatine. Four of the Willman siblings-Steve, 34; Lisa, 29; Jeff, 27; and Kim Gillespie, 33-have been diagnosed with Von-Hippel Lindau, a rare disease in which tumors grow on blood vessels, causing kidney cancer and many other afflictions.
Ambassador Club coordinators Sean Ahrens, 21, of Schaumburg and Pete Marta, 19, of Palatine led a group of 25 volunteers in washing about 275 cars last fall. The event raised $1,100 for the Willman family.
While the sum barely dents the nearly $500,000 in medical bills accrued by the Willmans, to the family it was like a million dollars.
“They were the neatest group of young people I’ve ever met,” said mother Rosanne Willman. “They were a determined bunch. And the best part was that the idea came from them.”
Added Kristen Oblinger, adviser to the Ambassador Club: “I was amazed by the students’ commitment. They showed drive and tenacity.”
It’s such small outreach projects like these that really make a difference, McGinty said. For instance, the American Red Cross enlists people to help make Christmas stockings for needy children. In 1993, 275 stockings were made by Harper students and staff, McGinty said.
The activities also benefit the students. “I feel there are a lot of people out there who can’t help themselves, so I’m willing to do it,” said Janet Willuweit, 19, of Hoffman Estates, who helped rake leaves for senior citizens last fall. “Raking leaves is such an easy thing for us to do, but it’s something they’re not able to do anymore.”
Wrestler Dave MaHoney, 20, of Rolling Meadows also was on the crew helping the senior citizens. “It made me feel good to help people who couldn’t help themselves,” he said.
Assistant wrestling coach Dan Loprieno asked the team members to volunteer because he thinks it builds character.
“I think it’s nice to reach out,” he said. “Life isn’t as easy as it appears to be. These kids are in the prime of their lives; they need to see that others need help.”
The team will be taking the outreach concept one step further this spring when it heads to southern Illinois for a week to help 1993 flood victims rebuild their community.
Another outreach program at Willow Bend School in Rolling Meadows works on helping children improve their academics and their self-esteem.
About 22 children receive weekly tutoring from Harper volunteers, said Christina Bednaroski, Willow Bend’s tutoring program assistant. The tutors assist 4th through 6th graders in reading, math and other homework matters while providing them with another person to talk to, said Bednaroski, who oversees the program along with Jean Schumacher.
Harper College administrative secretary Janice Cook has been involved in tutoring young children for four years. “We’re an impartial person they can talk to,” she said. “They confide in us about troubling problems. By talking about their problems, it helps them to better concentrate on their homework.”
She said she volunteers because “maybe somehow I’ve planted a seed in which success grows in the child.”
Outreach does make a difference to the recipient, said Mary Kosin, director of the Palatine Township Senior Citizens Council. Kosin said the seniors were selected for the fall cleaning program on the basis of need. “We all have the American dream to own a house and to keep it up,” Kosin said. “These folks see their home and yard deteriorate, and it’s hard on them.”
The students’ acts of kindness do make a difference. One recipient wrote: “The yard looks great. I can see the world with my one eye through these shiny windows.”
Another wrote: “I thank God every day for your kindness to me in helping me with my yard work.”
As the college expands its outreach into the community, it is also developing an extensive program in which community members can volunteer their services on campus, said Jim Finke, community and program services manager.
The GEN.I.E. program was started this year as a way of allowing community members to share their talents with the college, Finke said.
The program is still evolving, but areas where residents can get involved include office assistance, student activities, special events and mentoring.
For instance, a retired physicist or engineer might become a mentor to several students, Finke said. Others might be interested in becoming greeters for a lecture series, he said.
Outreach is not unique to Harper College. Elgin Community College began promoting volunteer programs in 1990, said Diane Sanchez, coordinator of student organizations. Today, the college works with more than 60 agencies.
Oakton Community College in Des Plaines also offers outreach programs to its students. Oakton’s primary outreach is through tutoring students in English as a Second Language programs.
